GOD'S WORD Translation GW
New King James Version NKJV
1 I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said: Strike the tops of the pillars so that the foundations shake. Cut off everyone's head. I will kill with a sword all who are left. None of them will be able to get away. None of them will be able to escape.
1
I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and He said: "Strike the doorposts, that the thresholds may shake, And break them on the heads of them all. I will slay the last of them with the sword. He who flees from them shall not get away, And he who escapes from them shall not be delivered.
2 Even if they dig their way into Sheol, my hand will take them from there. Even if they go up to heaven, I will bring them down from there.
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"Though they dig into hell, From there my hand shall take them; Though they climb up to heaven, From there I will bring them down;
3 Even if they hide on top of Mount Carmel, I will look for them and take them from there. Even if they hide from me at the bottom of the sea, I will command a sea snake to bite them.
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And though they hide themselves on top of Carmel, From there I will search and take them; Though they hide from My sight at the bottom of the sea, From there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them;
4 Even if they go into exile ahead of their enemies, I will command a sword to kill them. I will keep my eyes on them so that I can bring disaster on them and not help them.
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Though they go into captivity before their enemies, From there I will command the sword, And it shall slay them. I will set My eyes on them for harm and not for good."
5 The Almighty LORD of Armies touches the earth. It quakes, and all who live on it mourn. All of it rises like the Nile and sinks like Egypt's river.
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The Lord God of hosts, He who touches the earth and it melts, And all who dwell there mourn; All of it shall swell like the River, And subside like the River of Egypt.
6 The one who builds stairs up to heaven and sets their foundation on the earth, the one who calls for the water in the sea and pours it over the face of the earth-- His name is the LORD.
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He who builds His layers in the sky, And has founded His strata in the earth; Who calls for the waters of the sea, And pours them out on the face of the earth-- The Lord is His name.
7 You people of Israel are like the people from Sudan, says the LORD. Didn't I bring Israel from Egypt? Didn't I bring the Philistines from Crete and the Arameans from Kir?
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"Are you not like the people of Ethiopia to Me, O children of Israel?" says the Lord. "Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt, The Philistines from Caphtor, And the Syrians from Kir?
8 I, the Almighty LORD, have my eyes on this sinful kingdom. I will wipe it off the face of the earth. But I won't totally destroy the descendants of Jacob, declares the LORD.
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"Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are on the sinful kingdom, And I will destroy it from the face of the earth; Yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob," Says the Lord.
9 I'm going to give the order. I will sift the nation of Israel out of all the nations as if I were using a sieve. Not one pebble will fall to the ground.
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"For surely I will command, And will sift the house of Israel among all nations, As grain is sifted in a sieve; Yet not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground.
10 All the sinners among my people are thinking, "Destruction will not catch up to us or run into us." In spite of this, they will be killed with swords.
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All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword, Who say, 'The calamity shall not overtake nor confront us.'
11 On that day I will set up David's fallen tent. I will repair the holes in it. I will restore its ruined places. I will rebuild them as they were a long time ago.
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"On that day I will raise up The tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, And repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, And rebuild it as in the days of old;
12 They will capture the few survivors of Edom and all the other nations that were under my authority, declares the LORD, who will do these things.
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That they may possess the remnant of Edom, And all the Gentiles who are called by My name," Says the Lord who does this thing.
13 The days are going to come, declares the LORD, when the one who plows will catch up to the one who harvests, and the one who stomps on grapes will catch up to the one who plants. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills.
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"Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord, "When the plowman shall overtake the reaper, And the treader of grapes him who sows seed; The mountains shall drip with sweet wine, And all the hills shall flow with it.
14 I will restore my people Israel. They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink the wine from them. They will plant gardens and eat their fruit.
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I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; They shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them.
15 I will plant the people of Israel in their land, and they won't be uprooted again from the land that I gave them, says the LORD your God.
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I will plant them in their land, And no longer shall they be pulled up From the land I have given them," Says the Lord your God.
GOD'S WORD® is a copyrighted work of God's Word to the Nations. Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.